“These soft Italian-style cookies are a hit with everyone. The ricotta keeps them moist, and the recipe yields a large batch, which is great since the baked cookies freeze so well. Do not freeze the unbaked dough. You can decorate them with chopped candied cherries, colored sugar or candy sprinkles.”

A great recipe, but even better with some additions. I followed the other reviewers' advice, and used lemon extract instead of the vanilla. Then, I tinted the icing with yellow food coloring, and I also added vanilla and lemon extract (1/4 tsp each) to it. I drizzled the icing over the tops of the cookies and then sprinkled confectioner's sugar on top of the icing to pretty them up a bit. The result was a tasty cookie that was easy on the eye, and even more pleasing to the tummy! Will definitely try these again!

Reviewer:

I made these cookies for Easter with a few changes and they were fabulous! I added a tablespoon of grated lemon peel to the dough and used half lemon juice instead of milk for the icing. I tinted the icing yellow with food coloring and topped with pastel colored sprinkes. They were delicious and beautiful!!!

Reviewer:

These cookies are great...wonderfully light and airy! I played around with some extracts, doing one dozen with lemon extract (topping with a lemon glaze and grated lemon zest), one dozen with maple extract (topping with a maple flavored cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts), and another dozen with coconut extract (topping with a coconut infused vanilla frosting and fresh shredded coconut). They were all wonderful, but the coconut was my favorite! The flavor of these by themselves leaves so much possibility as far as flavorings go, which makes them perfect for me, even though others have mentioned thinking they "lacked something". A little imagination can turn a good cookie into a GREAT cookie and I think these have the potential for that! Thanks for the wonderful recipe! :)

Reviewer:

These are cake-like cookies, not your standard cookie texture and density, so don't expect the same consistency as a chocolate chip cookie. Also, the batter was very thick and my 100 watt hand mixer did not have enough power to handle the dough. I tried to make these a little lower in fat, so I reduce the amount of butter. That was a mistake. The cookies were too crumbly -- the butter is needed for moistness. These cookies have a mild flavor and do not taste very sweet without the icing. I mixed 3 T. of fresh orange juice with 3 c. of powdered sugar to make the icing. The citrus of the OJ was a nice complement to the cookie. I think almond or maple extract would also be good in the icing. After I get a new and better mixer, I'm going to try these again.

Reviewer:

Good. Just a very plain soft and cakey vanilla cookie. I followed recipe exactly, but didn't make the icing. The cookies are plenty sweet without it. They do not spread at all, so can be put close together on cookie sheet. Mine only needed 12 minutes in the oven.